Assweepeigh
New Member
Hello-
I would really appreciate any and all advice on hardware, software, coding, online resources etc. I'm a total automation novice, I'm fairly mechanically inclined but I've never done any automation and haven't done coding since I was a kid in school ( a long time ago).
Here's what I'm trying to do:
I have a firgelli automations FA-Po-150-12-4 linear actuator with a built in potentiometer. I'm trying to build a machine where the following happens: There is a "car" that moves on a straight 15' track. Depending on where the car is on the track, the linear actuator needs to be extended to a specific length, and that length needs to change as the car travels.
For example, when the car is at, say, 6' from one end of the track, the actuator will be extended 2.2"; when the car is at 6.5' the actuator needs to be extended to 2.3" and so on. I would like to be able to dial in the actuator position so that I can control exactly where the actuator will be at a bunch of points of car travel (maybe every 6" determine a specified actuator position). Ideally I want the actuator to transition smoothly between these indexed points (so that for example, 1/3 of the way from point "A" to point "B," the actuator is 1/3 of the way between the "A" and "B" set distances).
The motor on the actuator is 12vdc. According to factory specs, the motor can draw a peak of a little over 3A. the built-in pot on the actuator is 0-10kΩ. The car has wheels, so maybe some sort or rotary encoder could measure car travel distance? Everything in the system can be wired and powered externally. I want the system to be stand-alone if possible (not wired into an external computer). To complicate everything the whole system will be exposed to water, but I expect I'll just figure out how to waterproof all components.
Thanks very much!!
-CB
I would really appreciate any and all advice on hardware, software, coding, online resources etc. I'm a total automation novice, I'm fairly mechanically inclined but I've never done any automation and haven't done coding since I was a kid in school ( a long time ago).
Here's what I'm trying to do:
I have a firgelli automations FA-Po-150-12-4 linear actuator with a built in potentiometer. I'm trying to build a machine where the following happens: There is a "car" that moves on a straight 15' track. Depending on where the car is on the track, the linear actuator needs to be extended to a specific length, and that length needs to change as the car travels.
For example, when the car is at, say, 6' from one end of the track, the actuator will be extended 2.2"; when the car is at 6.5' the actuator needs to be extended to 2.3" and so on. I would like to be able to dial in the actuator position so that I can control exactly where the actuator will be at a bunch of points of car travel (maybe every 6" determine a specified actuator position). Ideally I want the actuator to transition smoothly between these indexed points (so that for example, 1/3 of the way from point "A" to point "B," the actuator is 1/3 of the way between the "A" and "B" set distances).
The motor on the actuator is 12vdc. According to factory specs, the motor can draw a peak of a little over 3A. the built-in pot on the actuator is 0-10kΩ. The car has wheels, so maybe some sort or rotary encoder could measure car travel distance? Everything in the system can be wired and powered externally. I want the system to be stand-alone if possible (not wired into an external computer). To complicate everything the whole system will be exposed to water, but I expect I'll just figure out how to waterproof all components.
Thanks very much!!
-CB